I beg to differ:
Posted on 11/13/2007 4:21:33 PM PST by buccaneer81
Fireman was set up, lawyer says Police put camera in city park where topless woman sunbathed, judge is told Tuesday, November 13, 2007 3:51 AM By Jodi Andes THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Robin Garrison is accused of exposing himself in Berliner Park. He was off duty but in uniform.
Robin Garrison is accused of exposing himself in Berliner Park. He was off duty but in uniform. A Columbus firefighter charged with exposing himself in a city park went on trial yesterday, but his attorney said the charge was a police trap.
Robin Garrison, 42, was charged with public indecency, a misdemeanor, after Columbus police said he exposed his genitals to a woman in Berliner Park on May 20.
In opening arguments, Garrison's attorney, Sam Shamansky, argued that police set up a sting around a woman who had been sunbathing topless in the park for days.
"Columbus police utilized this topless woman to snare this man," Shamansky said. "He sees her day after day. He's not some seedy pervert."
Assistant City Prosecutors Michael Allbritain and Stephen Steinberg showed jurors a videotape of the encounter.
The footage was black and white, and taken from a distance because the camera lacked a zoom lens, Vice Sgt. Stan Latta testified.
On the day Garrison was charged, he was off duty but in his Columbus Division of Fire uniform.
The footage shows him sitting near the woman, under a tree, and the two talking for several minutes. At one point, the woman puts her foot on his shoulder. Though she was supposed to be sunbathing, she appears to be sitting in the shade.
The tape does not include audio, so it's unclear what was said, but during the exchange Garrison unzips his pants and exposes himself.
Shamansky said Garrison saw the woman for days as he drove past Berliner Park.
"She asks to see his penis and, like a fool, he does it," Shamansky said.
Detective Dick Elias said vice officers had set up the video because they were targeting men who were having sex or masturbating in the park -- not men who had come to see her.
The woman had been sunbathing topless near the front of the park for days, he said, and "had become a spectacle" with men driving by to watch.
It is legal for women to be topless in Columbus.
So Elias asked the woman to move to the rear of the park, which she did. But men still drove by to see her. Another man, whose name wasn't mentioned, was charged the same afternoon as Garrison for exposing himself to the woman.
The Fire Division moved Garrison, of Woodbridge Lane in Baltimore, to a desk job after he was charged, said Battalion Chief Doug Smith, division spokesman.
The trial before Judge Michael Brandt continues today in Franklin County Municipal Court.
jandes@dispatch.com
LOL!
Sounds like the Columbus police department needs to be cleaned out to me
How is it legal for the woman to expose herself, but not the man?
What a load of horsepucky.
Is this like it being ok to smoke pot in the park but not cigarettes?
wow. only 2 posts to bash the cops in a story that has little to do with cops! a new record.
“Columbus police utilized this topless woman to snare this man,”
I'm sorry, but I'm going to agree with the lawyer!! She puts her FOOT on his shoulder? HELLO? What was she doing, showing off how flexible she was? Asking to see his penis?
He probably thought he was getting lucky!
What a ridiculous abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
If she was in the shade, topless, and put her foot on his shoulder, then she certainly sent him a message that she was receptive to engaging in activities.
And what the hell were the police doing, surrounding her ‘perimeter’ with cameras? If she wasn’t undercover, then I’d say that they were guilty of illegal perp filming, just like those guys with the camera in their gym bags. If she was undercover, then the whole thing was entrapment.
Since she was ‘relocated’ in the park by the police, certainly one can argue that she was acting, knowingly or not, as an agent of the police.
And what kind of “undercover” involved uncovering your breasts in public and causing a daily virtual traffic jam (from the description).
And I love the name of the defense atty. “In opening arguments, Garrison’s attorney, Sam Shamansky”. Did he have a band in the 60’s?
“Uno, dos,
one, two, tres, quatro
Matty told Hatty
about a thing she saw...”
regardless, it's lawful to be topless. it is not lawful to be pants-less. and there seems to be an existing problem in this park with deviants. and guess what? kids walk through parks. good for the cops, imho. but i'm an apologist and this sounds like a weird case.
they could have just as easily caught her in an illegal act if she didn't know the cops were using her. but watching a topless woman all day sounds like a good gig for the cops involved.
“only 2 posts to bash the cops in a story that has little to do with cops! a new record.”
And you might set a record for stupidity if you think this DOESN’T have something to do with cops ... out of control.
It has everything to do with the cops. Entrapment is illegal.
see post #8.
ah-HA! see post #8. it’s not entrapment if the woman was not working with the cops. if she was, then it’s entrapment. good point.
“Uno, dos,
one, two, tres, quatro
Matty told Hatty
about a thing she saw...
A topless woman in the park,
She wasnt even wearing a bra.
Then she asked to see..
My woolly bully...”
Firefighters always do what he public asks of them - she asked, and he complied. (Spoken as a retire firefighter.) I’m not saying we’re SMART, I’m saying “we serve”!
The entire situation is ridiculous.
Put topless women anywhere in public and there are going to be men going gaga
Gee Wally. I wonder why?
but going gagga doesn't mean pulling out "mister kinish". should i post a pic of helen to bring this post down a little?
Not unless you want me to file assault charges!
i assure you. the men these cops were after had no interest in this woman. get my meaning? who usually has sex in parks...? and bathroom stalls...?
i'm sure we're on the same page now.
I beg to differ:
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